EU Approves Longer CMR Withdrawal Periods for Cosmetics

The European Parliament has approved revised rules under the Omnibus VI chemicals package, giving cosmetic manufacturers in the EU more time to withdraw products containing carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) substances. Beauty brands will have more time to plan reformulations and sell existing stock, with the ban on CMR ingredients still in place. Consumer safety groups are concerned that the longer withdrawal periods could leave potentially harmful products on shelves for longer.
The vote formalizes a provisional agreement reached by parliament and the EU council on June 17. Members of the European Parliament adopted the legislation on October 22, with 477 votes in favor, 59 against, and 41 abstentions. The text amends Article 15 of the Cosmetic Products Regulation, which covers CMR substances. Under the current rules, companies must go through an exemption process if they want to keep using an ingredient after it is added to the CMR list.
Omnibus VI is part of a series of EU packages intended to reduce administrative burdens on businesses. The industry had previously criticized the proposal for adding more red tape, and the final text scales back several parts of the commission’s original plan.

Industry backs the reform

The cosmetics sector now supports Omnibus VI after earlier concerns about the complexity of reformulation and exemption procedures. Under the final rules, manufacturers can sell existing stock for a set period after a CMR ban takes effect, rather than having to withdraw products immediately. They will have three months to apply for an exemption.
In a joint statement, organizations including Cosmetics Europe and the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) said the proposal “does not relax any safeguards.”
After the June agreement, Cosmetics Europe and other European cosmetics, fragrance, and essential oils associations welcomed the deal.
“This agreement shows that Europe can streamline the regulatory framework and reduce administrative burden while maintaining the highest consumer safety standards,” said John Chave, director general at Cosmetics Europe, at the time.
“The Omnibus VI gives our industry more predictability with clearer and enforceable rules the sector needs to keep innovating and competing globally, with science at the heart of every decision.”

New withdrawal deadlines

Under the current rules, products containing a newly classified CMR substance must be withdrawn as soon as the ban takes effect. The new rules introduce a risk-based grace period after that date, with deadlines depending on scientific assessments of the substance’s safety.
Companies seeking an exemption must apply within three months of the new CMR classification taking effect. If an exemption is refused on safety grounds, they will have three months to stop placing the products on the market and nine months before the products can no longer be sold.
Products considered safe but for which alternatives are available can remain on the market for two years, with three years to clear existing stock from shelves.
Manufacturers that do not apply for an exemption will have six months to stop placing affected products on the market and 12 months to sell through their existing stock. These periods are half as long as the 12 and 24 months originally proposed by the commission.
During negotiations, lawmakers dropped a proposal to assess CMR substances according to how consumers are exposed to them. That approach could have allowed a carcinogenic substance in products applied to the skin, even if it was banned in products that are swallowed or inhaled.

Consumer groups remain critical

The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) has said the final deadlines are shorter than those proposed by the commission, but still longer than the current rules. The group warns that the changes give the beauty industry more time to keep harmful chemicals in cosmetics and could open new routes to exempt certain carcinogenic substances from the existing ban.
“Sadly, this deal means that toothpastes, deodorants, or lipstick containing toxic ingredients will stay longer in consumers’ homes. This is bad news, knowing that more than four in five EU consumers worry about the impact of harmful chemicals on their health and the environment,” said Agustín Reyna, director general of BEUC, after the June agreement.
“The silver lining is that EU institutions have managed to avoid the worst, since the final deal drops the original proposal’s most problematic points.”

Divided path to agreement

Earlier in the negotiations, the cosmetics industry disagreed with the EU council over its stricter approach.
An EU spokesperson told Personal Care Insights at the time that the council wanted to balance simplification with the Cosmetic Products Regulation’s main aim of protecting human health and the environment.
Trade associations, including IFRA, Cosmetics Europe, the European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients, and SMEunited, criticized the council’s position. “The council’s position reinstates unnecessary red tape,” said Chave. “We regret this lost opportunity to better ensure safe ingredients and products stay on the market.”
IFRA warned that around half a million cosmetic products on the EU market could require reformulation if the derogation procedure remained unworkable.
The final agreement has addressed many of these concerns by simplifying the exemption process and allowing grace periods for existing stock. Personal care groups, including Cosmetics Europe, have since welcomed the deal, pointing to greater predictability and clearer rules.
The council must now formally adopt the text before it can be published in the Official Journal of the EU andenter into force.